Category Archives: Silver Market

Suffice it to say collectors have not been thrilled with many of the recent commemorative coin designs being supplied by the United States Mint. Early indications are that next year’s 2018 World War I commemorative silver dollars are also garnering less than enthusiastic reviews.

The Vikings, a clan of seafaring Norse raiders, thrived primarily between the 8th and 11th centuries. Therefore, it’s not altogether surprising that much of the centuries-old treasure and artifacts uncovered in Northern Europe and the British Isles are of Viking origin. In fact, “Viking” is roughly the Old English word for “pirate.” Just recently, on the […]

There hasn’t been a great deal to report about the silver market this summer—at least nothing new. The precious metal has experienced price fluctuations throughout 2017 to be sure, but nothing suggestive of a clear direction for the market over the longer term.

Supply and demand are the essence of any market, and the precious metals are not excepted from this fact. This principle is particularly true of silver, however. More so than even gold, which has tremendous existing stockpiles that are frequently remelted (and endlessly loaned out), the price of silver is sensitive to disruptions in the mining industry.

In response to an intriguing revelation about American Silver Eagle (ASE) production, the United States Mint has dropped a bombshell on collectors regarding the provenance of Silver Eagle coins produced at the mint’s branch facilities in Philadelphia and San Francisco.

American Silver Eagle sales for the first quarter of 2017 totaled a bit over 7.9 million coins, the slowest start since 2009. Considering that the first quarter is usually the most active time for Silver Eagle sales each year, current demand is pointing toward 2017 being the lowest mintage in at least six years. This […]

When it comes to suffering the consequences for manipulating the price of silver to its advantage, banking stalwart JPMorgan is not entirely in the clear yet. Silver Price Manipulation An appellate court in New York has ruled that the years-long case against JPMorgan for rigging the silver market can go forward, reversing the previous decision […]

There is no doubt that the question of how to generate cheap, clean, and sustainable energy will be one of the most pressing challenges for this generation of entrepreneurs and innovators. In the wake of the plunge and fluctuations of crude oil prices the past two years, much has been made of the attractiveness of […]

Last week, Germany’s Deutsche Bank (DB) finalized a $60 million settlement in a case that involved the manipulation of both gold prices and silver prices. The discovery process in that lawsuit has now revealed “smoking gun” evidence that the bank did not act alone in rigging the London fixes.

Silver prices have been pummeled since the beginning of October, shedding over 15% from their peak this year above $20 per ounce. As a result, the silver exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track the silver price have also fallen sharply from their highs earlier this autumn. What does 2017 hold in store for silver ETFs? Moreover, […]

As is usually the case during the last six weeks or so of the calendar year, the U.S. Mint is nearing the point where it will halt production of its premier silver bullion coin, the American Silver Eagle.

Since the early 1980s, the People’s Republic of China has struck its own gold and silver bullion coins for international trade. In addition to their precious metal content, these coins are also prized collectibles due to their lower mintage figures compared to most government-issued bullion coins. Now, the increased popularity and demand for Chinese Panda […]

The Olympics are coming to a close, and at the same moment silver is sprinting far ahead of gold. In fact, it’s about to lap its precious metal cousin around the track! When you compare year-to-date returns, spot silver has nearly outpaced gold 2:1—+43% YTD versus a still impressive +27.5% YTD for the gold price.

The iShares Silver Trust (SLV) experienced a considerable pullback at the end of July, taking a breather from its steady ascent throughout the first half of the year. Now, the most popular exchange-traded fund (ETF) backed by silver is once again climbing higher.

During periods where the precious metals are seeing a great deal of investment demand and rising in price, silver usually enjoys the higher upside—and higher volatility—of the two metals. This has undoubtedly been the case so far in 2016: while gold has rallied an impressive 25% so far this year, silver prices have shot far […]

Among the many factors that contribute to a bullish outlook for silver is the growth in solar energy technology. Solar solutions are being adopted more and more readily around the world—and one of the primary ingredients in photovoltaic (PV) cells is silver. Unfortunately, there are still enormous hurdles for solar energy firms to overcome if […]